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DIY High-Altitude Ballooning

Posted by timothy on from the creative-photography dept.

The Ape With No Name writes "Ever wanted to see the black of space but just can't pay a cool 20 million to do so? Well, just build your own small-scale, high-altitude balloon like these guys out of styrofoam, duct tape, electrical kit and a 'consumer-grade' weather balloon. They reached an estimated 52000 feet, had all kinds of tech issues, including hacking code to fly the mission minutes before launch. Cool pics and video were taken throughout the mission. Next flight is in approximately 2 weeks with 100,000 feet the goal."

6 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. Movie Mirrors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Mirror for videos: Launch & Prep - Just Launch - Recovery

    I ask that you please do not stream them. Thanks!

  2. Exciting but risky by fembots · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's almost as exciting as reading how NASA got Apollo13 back, but the fact that the payload just dropped back to earth "randomly" is quite alarming.

    --
    Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
  3. Cheaper by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ever wanted to see the black of space but just can't pay a cool 20 million to do so? Well, just build your own small-scale, high-altitude balloon like these guys out of styrofoam, duct tape, electrical kit

    or alternatively, stick two pieces of aforementioned duct tape over your eyelids and experience the black of space right here at home.

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  4. DUHH!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    >Ever wanted to see the black of space
    >but just can't pay a cool 20 million to do so?

    Yeah - just wait for the sunset.

  5. Another Cool Page... by th1ckasabr1ck · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's a cool webpage of a group that did something similar. Their baloon made it up to about 94,000 ft. The site has a cool writeup with pictures and such of their project.

    1. Re:Another Cool Page... by joranbelar · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You know, this may seem totally random, but what I appreciate about this post is the fact that he provides an interesting and relevant link to a similar story without resorting to self-righteous babbling about how it's all been done before and Slashdot is so behind the times, and how stupid we all are for not knowing about the previous stories. I've been getting tired of those posts :) Sometimes, it's just about getting the information out, not about who did it first.